WKU Football: Gameday Info for Game 5 Against UTEP
After a much needed bye week, The 2–2 Hilltoppers are back in action as they travel out west to face a reeling 0–5 Texas El-Paso squad with…
After a much needed bye week, The 2–2 Hilltoppers are back in action as they travel out west to face a reeling 0–5 Texas El-Paso squad with a new coach, Mike Price.
If you need to know any of the game information, look no further — we have you covered.
Location
Sun Bowl, El Paso, Texas
Time
7 p.m. CT
Weather Forecast
TV
TV - No TV for game
Online Stream - CUSA.TV ($)
Radio
Hilltopper IMG Sports Network
Gameday Information
From UTEP
WKU Hilltopper Hangout in El Paso
Betting Lines from Sportsline.com
WKU: -17 1/2
Over/ Under: 54 1/2
Moneyline : WKU -900
Current Records
WKU 2–2
UTEP 0–5
Last Week
WKU was on a bye. The week prior, WKU hosted Ball State, they blew a 10 point lead but rallied down one with 4:50 left to win 33–21 with Joe Brown sealing it on pick six touchdown.
UTEP traveled to Army. They led briefly into the second quarter and played competitively heading into the locker room tied at 14 at the half. The 2nd half was all Army as they outscored UTEP 21–7 , as the Miners lost 35–21. After the game head coach Sean Kugler resigned after the 0–5 start to the season.
Coaches
Mike Sanford — 1st season 2–2 overall
*Mike Price - 11th season 48–61 at UTEP; 131–139 overall
*First game as a head coach since 2012
Series
WKU leads 1–0
Last Meeting
During the 2014 season, The Miners traveled to Bowling Green after WKU had fallen to 3–5 (after an embarrassing loss in Ruston to La Tech). UTEP jumped to a 27–14 lead in the third quarter, but a Wonderful Terry 90-yard interception return put the Tops up front and they ended up making the homecoming crowd leave happy in a 35–27 win.
Relevant Reading
Previewing WKU with The Towel Rack (From SB Nation’s Miner Rush)
Injury Report from Don Best
For WKU:
DB — De’Andre Simmons- Out- Knee
DB — Nathan Roush- Out- Knee
DT- Jalen Manning- Out-Knee
RB- D’Andre Ferby- Probable- Ankle
RB- Quinton Baker- Probable- Ribs
For UTEP:
QB- Ryan Metz- Out- Shoulder
WR- Alan Busey- Out- Shoulder
OL- Greg Long- Out- Leg
LB- Jayson Van Hook- Out- Shoulder
DB- Khalil Rashaad-Brown- Out- Achilles
DL- Chris Richardson- Out- Eligibility
LB- Julian Jackson- Questionable- Undisclosed
LB- Dylan Parsee- Questionable- Undisclosed
DL- Christian Buckingham- Questionable- Undisclosed
Excitement Level —6
After a week without WKU football, I think we’re all happy to get back on the horse and follow the Tops today. The fact that they’re playing an 0–5 team with an interim coach on lousy C-USA.TV does tamper the excitement quite a bit for this one. However, I think we all want to see if Mike Sanford’s squad benefited from the bye week and can put together a complete performance against a team they should thoroughly handle. A win here and WKU now is on its first winning streak of the season before they host another winless Charlotte team for homecoming.
Go Tops! This game sets up as a perfect barometer of how much the team has improved since week 1. We’ll be providing live coverage of this match-up. If you’ve traveled all the way to El Paso, please send us your tailgating and in-game pictures via Twitter at @TheTowelRackWKU or on our Facebook page and we’ll share.